The Film Music of Miklos Rozsa

by Rumon Gamba, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Overview

The Chandos label has issued some fine recordings of classic film music, and this release featuring scores by Miklos Rozsa is especially nice. The BBC Philharmonic under Rumon Gamba outdoes itself; the MediaCity sound is superb; and the notes by Andrew Knowles are unusually detailed. But the real attraction is the music of Rozsa himself, which is well represented by these four scores that cover a two-decade period. What's striking is how timeless his scores seem. The earliest of the four, The Thief of Baghdad, was finished in 1940 but has any number of features that, with very slight tweaking, would make it suitable for a film released today. Rozsa combined percussion-heavy sounds influenced by Bartok and Stravinsky with expansive pure Romantic melodies for the scenes of love and sentiment, a combination unlike anything being done in concert music at the time. The mix had unusual flexibility, enabling Rozsa to evoke the swashbuckling Thief of Baghdad, the still more exotic Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, the dramatic adventure of Sahara, and the epic Ben Hur, a film that truly would not be imaginable without its score, all without having to depart from his basic idea. It is not formulaic but rather original enough to encompass many strands of film in the middle 20th century, and there's a great deal of satisfying listening to be had here for film music fans. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	03/25/2014
Label:	Chandos
UPC:	0095115180624
Rank:	7719

Tracks

1. Suite from The Thief of Bagdad~Overture
2. Suite from The Thief of Bagdad~Cort¿¿ge
3. Suite from The Thief of Bagdad~The Love of the Princess
4. Suite from The Thief of Bagdad~The Sultan's Toys
5. Suite from The Thief of Bagdad~The Flying Horse Gallop
6. Suite from The Thief of Bagdad~The Silvermaid's Dance
7. Suite from The Thief of Bagdad~The Market at Basra
8. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Beginning
9. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Shere Khan
10. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Mowgli Wanders
11. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Lullaby
12. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~The Ways of Man
13. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Cries of the Animals
14. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Mowgli Seeks Shere Khan
15. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~The Chase
16. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Victory
17. Suite from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book~Bagheera's Contentment
18. Suite from Sahara
19. Suite from Ben-Hur~Prelude
20. Suite from Ben-Hur~Love Theme
21. Suite from Ben-Hur~The Burning Desert
22. Suite from Ben-Hur~The Rowing of the Galley Slaves
23. Suite from Ben-Hur~The Mother's Love
24. Suite from Ben-Hur~Parade of the Charioteers

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rumon Gamba   Primary Artist,Conductor
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Yuri Torchinsky   Orchestra Leader

Technical Credits

Christopher Palmer   Orchestration,Arranger,Orchestration,Arranger
Miklos Rozsa   Composer
Francis Marchal   Liner Note Translation
Rosanna Fish   Editing
Amanda Dorr   Booklet Editor
Mike George   Recording Producer
Andrew Knowles   Liner Notes
Sue Shortridge   A&R
Ralph Couzens   Executive Producer
Stephen Rinker   Engineer
Brian Pidgeon   Recording Producer
Stephanie Wollny   Liner Note Translation